Warning and guidance systems are used by individuals who require assistance parking vehicles to prevent damage from occurring to the vehicle or building, and to increase the safety of personnel around the area by using visual and audio aids. Since an operator may not be able to see every angle of their vehicle, safety of personnel can become compromised. To increase safety and operating performance of guiding vehicles, devices that output information to the operator can be positioned in certain configurations to provide the operator greater spatial awareness.
One way to provide such spatial awareness is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,479 (Cotton) which discloses a garage parking position indicator. The garage parking position indicator comprises a wave energy detector such as an infrared receiver mounted to one side of the garage access door at a point greater than the length of the vehicle. A wave energy source, such as an infrared transmitter, is mounted on the opposite side of the garage access door from the receiver. The transmitter constantly transmits and directs wave energy toward the receiving means so that the presence of any portion of the vehicle between the transmitter and the receiver will interrupt reception of the wave energy by the receiver. Cotton fails to disclose or teach a system that can detect lateral movement of the vehicle as it approaches the garage access door. Instead, Cotton teaches a system that can detect whether a vehicle is parked fully within the garage only after the vehicle had entered the garage.
Another example of providing such spatial awareness is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,925 (Brancale) which discloses a position indicating system where a magnetic proximity switch is mounted to one side of a garage with another magnetic proximity sensor mounted on the opposite side of the garage. The switch operates in response to the positioning of a vehicle at a minimum distance from the sensor. Brancale fails to disclose or teach a system that can detect a vehicle outside of the garage and also fails to disclose a method of detecting non-metallic parts, which are included within many modern day vehicles.
Yet another example of providing such spatial awareness is disclosed in United States Patent Application No. 2011/0316720 (Ghatak) which discloses a parking guidance system having a pair of photoelectric sensors, a pair of reflectors, and an indicator box having both left and right indicator arrows. The photoelectric sensors and reflectors are configured inside the garage to create a left light beam near the left interior wall of the garage and a right light beam near the right interior wall of the garage. The indicator box is positioned on the rear inside wall of the garage. The guidance system is activated by lifting the garage door and is deactivated by closing the garage door. Ghatak fails to disclose or teach a system that detects a vehicle outside of the garage or a system which can be activated the system remotely.
Yet another example of providing such spatial awareness is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,427,340 (Palmieri) which discloses a vehicle maneuver communication system includes a spotter which interacts with an exo-vehicle component and manipulates visual cues that are provided to the driver. Palmieri fails to disclose or teach a system that has photoelectric eyes which provide the input to the system.
Thus, a long felt need exists for a warning and guidance system which assists in the parking of vehicles that can detect the presence of a vehicle prior to entering the parking area. Additionally, there is a long-felt need for a warning system that is operated solely by the driver.